Tuesday, May 28, 2013

On December 22,
1951 Chancellor of the Rangoon University Prime Minister U Nu gave Convocation
Address: “Today I am to confer degrees
to the candidates who have succeeded in the University examination. But I want
to do more than that. I want to confer a charge to all students, not only to
the students here assembled, but to all students all over Burma. This
charge is none other than to bring about in this country of ours a state of
affairs which will no longer be fluid and unstable like the surface of the sea
but as firm as terra firma”.

He added: “Before I
expatiate on the magnitude of this charge let me go a little into the past
history of our Union of Burma.
Then only you will realize-

[1] how badly
dilapidated this Union of Burma
is,

[2] why she is so dilapidated,

[3] and how much
hard work lies ahead of us to build her up again”.

He went on briefly
dwelling into the history: “The history of Burma from the beginning at Tagaung
of Abhiraja to the end of Thibaw's reign has been a history of kings and kingdoms.
As you know, kings were not elected by the people but derived their power from
their own might and succession, so that, apart from such great kings as
Anawrahta, Bayinnaung, Alaungpaya and Mindonmin, most kings had very little to
do with the mass of the people. They seldom bothered themselves about the five
main pillars of Health, Education, Morals, Economics and National Solidarity,
which must support a nation. It was the people themselves who had to build and
tend these pillars as far as they were able throughout the course of history.
Thus throughout the course of history these five pillars had never been well
and truly set up. After Thibaw, there were the British rulers.

They too were not
elected by the people. They were here not to bother about the five pillars but
to exploit our country of rice, timber, oil and minerals. . . . Any country
under the Imperialist regime, whether it be Burma,
India or America, is sure to have its moral
pillars shaken and dilapidated. In such a state unrest and disorders will be
the order of the day. Therefore, in order to bring about a change from the
fluid and unstable state of affairs to one which is firm and stable like terra
firma, we have no other method but to rebuild and renovate to our utmost
capacity the five pillars which are in a sorry state. Mere crying over this
mess will not do. Mere clamoring to Government to restore immediate peace will
not do. Heaping blame on others and launching attacks on Government in a spirit
of desperado will not do. Longing for distant friends and beckoning them will
not solve our problems. Such measures, instead of improving matters, will make
them worse.

In fact mere guns
will not solve our problems. Stability wrought by guns is never enduring.
It will vanish once the guns are withdrawn. We do not want that type of
stability brought about by means of guns. We want that type of stability
which will endure whether there are guns or not, certain political
organizations or not, certain leaders or not.

The nature of
stability must be spontaneous and natural. Only then will it be safe for
everybody. To achieve this type of stability it is up to every one of us in the
Union to do our utmost to rebuild the sadly
dilapidated five pillars which I have enumerated.

In this noble task of rebuilding the
five pillars, you students with your brains and your background will form the
vanguard. . .

To rebuild the
pillar of Education, the country needs skilled technicians both in the
mechanical and handicraft spheres, skilled educationists, skilled scientists,
learned historians, men of letters and leaders of religions.

To rebuild the pillar of Economics,
the country needs men and women skilled in Banking, Foreign Exchange, External
trade and technicians who have a thorough knowledge of modern factories,
administration, etc.

To rebuild the
pillar of Morals, the country needs men and women who have made a life-long
study of various methods of moral uplift. To rebuild the pillar of National
Solidarity, the country needs able leaders who are endowed with foresight,
forbearance, public esteem and exemplary character. Who
are those architects worthy of being entrusted with the task of rebuilding
these pillars? It is certain that ignoramuses cannot be our architects. It
is you, educated men and women, who can play the role of the country's
architects”.

Last but not least,
Premier Nu reiterated: “I declare this both as Chancellor of this University
and in the capacity of Prime Minister. . . . I know for certain that the vast
majority of the students in this University are eager to discharge their
responsibilities with the sincere desire for the good of the masses, free from
political influences and political attachments. Let me address the leaders of
these sincere workers. The task of rebuilding the five pillars is not small.
Mere attainment of independence will not make these pillars strong. Independence merely
entails opportunities for carrying out works for the good of the people. It is
up to all of us to carry out these works in our respective spheres to our
utmost capacity. You must bear this in mind”.